Southwest Airlines just had a rough year but will still reward employees with a big bonus.
The past year saw a damaging dispute with mechanics, disruption due to the 737 Max grounding and a number of safety issues.
Still, like every year it turned a profit, even though it was down nearly 7%.
It is giving its 60,000 employees a $667 million profit-sharing bonus which equals about six week’s extra pay.
Some workers will get the bonus added to their retirement accounts.
Part of it has been financed from compensation paid out by Boeing fro the continued grounding of Max jets.
Southwest is the largest Max customer in the US.
"Our employees delivered outstanding results despite a challenging year, and it’s a pleasure to reward our people for all they contribute," Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly said in a statement.
This is the 46th year in a row Southwest has turned a profit and paid out a bonus to its workers.
